For safety reasons, qualification of a warhead includes a requirement of survivability in an open flame environment. The presence of a live warhead, for example, on a carrier deck during a fire will greatly deter efforts to extinguish the flame and will present a real hazard to personnel, aircraft on the deck and even the ship itself. The chances of a warhead exploding in a fire situation is greatly lessened if the warhead booster is not present. It is not convenient, however, to install the booster at the final moment before takeoff.